Program for Students with Exceptionalities

The Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School offers a full continuum of services for students with exceptionalities designed to meet the needs of all students. Students attend classes in our building as determined by each student needs.

Curriculum
The Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School’s curriculum will be on a chronological continuum that aids the transition from basic skills acquisition to the acquisition of higher-level thinking skills.

Instruction
Teachers utilize modifications and adaptations to ensure effective instruction for all students that address the wide range of student individual needs are being met in the classroom.

Intervention
Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School has a collaborative effort to provide the child with the least restrictive environment from kindergarten through fifth grade. This collaborative effort involves parents, regular and pse/special educators, counselors, administrators, outside consultants, and the student, when appropriate.
Opportunities are available for students with moderate to mild disabilities to participate in the regular education environment to the maximum extent possible as determined by the IEP team.

These services include:

Learning Support
Emotional Support
Life Skills Support
Autistic Support
Speech & Language Support
Vision Support
Occupational Therapy
Gifted Support

Programs

Autistic Support
Provides specially designed instruction to students who need a program that is highly structured with a special emphasis on behavior modification. The program encourages the development of independence and self-sufficiency in the areas of functional academics, leisure and social skills.

Emotional Support
Provides a structured, behaviorally enhanced approach to students whose primary need is for social skills development or who demonstrate a pattern of maladaptive behaviors that may include aggression toward others and poor peer/adult relationships. The primary goal of the program is to teach students the behaviors necessary to function within acceptable behavioral norms of Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School and the community.

Learning Support
The Learning Support program provides specially designed instruction to students that have a significant disparity between educational expectancy and one or more of the following: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation and mathematics reasoning.

Life Skills Support
This program provides specially designed instruction to students whose identified need is that of independent living. These needs are in the areas of self-care, social adequacy, and work skills.

Multi-Disability Support
Multi-disabilities Support services provide specially designed instruction to students who have two or more disabilities of equal severity and whose program needs are communication, activities of daily living, as well as personal and social skills.

Gifted Support

The Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School’s Gifted Education Program mission is to appropriately challenge and enrich our learners to be advanced in the classroom and the community. While providing enrichment and various educational opportunities, the gifted education program encourages the individual learner to develop independent learning skills, respectful conduct, critical thinking skills, problem-solving, communication skills and creativity.

Eligibility

This guide for parents of children receiving PSE in Pennsylvania outlines how a child’s need for special education is determined, how a child’s educational program is developed, the responsibilities and protections guaranteed to parents and children, and the resources available to parents of a child with disabilities. This guide has been updated to reflect the September 2018 Chapter 14 regulations.

PaTTAN Special Education Guide

Procedural Safeguards Notice

The Procedural Safeguards Notice includes a full explanation of all of the rights available to parents of a child with a disability ages 3-21 when their child has been referred for or is receiving special education services. This model form provides a format that LEAs may choose to use to provide information about procedural safeguards to parents. This revised Procedural Safeguards Notice includes additional resources for parents in Appendix A. The revised form contains the footer “January 6, 2011.”

504 Policy

IEP Policy

PSE Evaluation Timeline

Step 1:

A parent or legal guardian requests a Permission to Evaluate for their student to the PSE Coordinator.

Step 2:

The PSE Coordinator will send the proper paperwork and questionnaires to the parent or legal guardian.

Step 3:

Once the PSE Coordinator receives signed paperwork and completed questionnaires, the 60 day testing and observation period by the school psychologist begins to determine if a student qualifies for PSE services.

Step 4:

Once the 60 day testing and observation period is completed, the school psychologist will provide a report to determine if a student is eligible for PSE services.

Step 5:

After reviewing the report from the school psychologist, the IEP team will have 30 days to write an IEP for the student if they qualify for PSE services. An IEP meeting will be held once the initial IEP is completed.